1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mid-mount passenger airbag apparatus that includes a housing mounted in a vicinity of the rear end of top face of an instrument panel, in front of a vehicle front passenger's seat, and an airbag housed in the housing in a folded configuration for rear- and upward deployment.
2. Description of Related Art
In comparison with a top-mount airbag apparatus which is mounted on a top face of an instrument panel, a mid-mount airbag apparatus is mounted closer to a front passenger's seat. This means that a mid-mount airbag is likely to hit an object strongly in its initial deployment phase when the object is close to the housing or “out of position”. Therefore the mid-mound airbag is expected to suppress its force impacting an out-of-position object.
JP2010-116117 discloses a top-mount airbag apparatus which includes around an airbag a cover cloth for suppressing the force of the airbag impacting an out-of-position object.
This conventional airbag apparatus is a top-mount apparatus that has a relatively great distance to an out-of-position object, and requires a wrapping sheet, additional to the cover cloth, for wrapping the airbag in a folded-up configuration. Therefore the conventional apparatus has room for improvement in reducing the number of parts.